Short-term memory (or "primary" or "active memory") is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds. A commonly cited capacity is 7 ± 2 elements. In contrast, long-term memory indefinitely stores a seemingly unlimited amount of information.
Short-term memory should be distinguished from working memory, which refers to structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information (see details below)
Read more about Short-term Memory: Existence of A Separate Store, Relationship With Working Memory, Duration of Short-term Memory, Capacity of Short-term Memory
Famous quotes containing the words short-term and/or memory:
“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.”
—Tom Stoppard (b. 1937)
“Everybody’s an artist. Everybody’s God. It’s just that they’re inhibited. I believe in people so much that if the whole of civilization is burned so we don’t have any memory of it, even then people will start to build their own art. It is a necessity—a function. We don’t need history.”
—Yoko Ono (b. 1933)